Sanitary carton for the display and sale of fancy fruit.



H. B. KOPF.

SANITARY CARTON FoR THF DISPLAY AND SALE 0F FANCY FRUIT.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 27. 1915.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

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HENRY B. KOPF, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

SANITARY CARTON FOR THE DISPLAY AND SALE OF FANCY FRUIT.

Application filed December 27, 1915.

To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRYB. KOPF, a. citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sanitary Carto-ns for the Display and Sale of Fancy Fruit; and I (lo hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in

Figure 1 a perspective view of a sanitary carton constructed in accordance with my invention and designed for the display and sale of fancy fruit. Fig. 2 a view thereof in longitudinal section on the line a-b of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 a view thereof in transverse section on the line c-CZ of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 a per- I spective view on a reduced scale of the carton cover. Fig. 5 a broken perspective view of one end of one of the triangular reinforces. Fig. 6 a similar view of a modification thereof. Fig. 7 an edge View of the tray as folded. Fig. 8 a perspective view of one of the modified forms which my improved sanitary carton may assume. Fig. 9 a View thereof in transverse section on the line e-f of the preceding figure.

My invention relates to a sanitary carton or package for the display and sale of fancy fruit, particularly choice apples, the object being to provide a strong, convenient and attractive package in which fancy fruit may be displayed and sold without exposing it to contamination, and without giving any one except the ultimate consumer any opportunity of handling it.

With these ends in view, my invention consists in a sanitary carton or package for the display and sale of fancy fruit, having certain details of construction as will be hereinafter described and pointedout in the claims.

In carrying out my invention as herein shown, I employ a folding rectangular tray 2 made of heavy paper open at the top, and adapted in capacity to receive a dozen apples arranged in three rows of four apples each, placed edgewise in the tray as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. While the tray 2 is preferably adapted to be folded for convenienceA of shipment, as shown in Fig. 7, this is not essential, The cover 5 is also Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

serial No. 68,726.

preferably adapted to be knocked down, as it were, for convenience of transportation, but this is not necessary. The said cover is provided in its top with an oblong opening 6 glazed, as it were, by a sheet 7 of transparent gelatin, celluloid, or equivalent material. The size of the opening 6 may be varied as desired, according to the extent to which it is desired to display the contained fruit. At its ends, the cover or shuck 5 is furnished with top and bottom flaps 8 and 9, and side flaps 10 which when folded upon each other over the ends of the tray, not only secure the same in place in the cover 'but also` operate to seal the package and cushion in its ends.

For the purpose of reinforcing the package as well as for spacing the individual rows of fruit therein, I employ as herein shown, hollow bars 11 of triangular crosssection preferably made of cardboard and adapted in length to t within the ends of the tray 2 which they stiffen to prevent its bending in the' center under the weight of the fruit and so as to make it practically resistent to endwise thrusts, the bars being arranged with the length of the tray. At

the same time, the hollow bars or positioning-members 11` being made of paper, will yield sufficiently in the transverse direction to prevent the fruit from being marred under lateral pressure. As shown I have employed eight of these bars symmetrically arranged in the corners of the tray and opposite the longitudinal center thereof as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Four of these bars rest directly upon the bottom of the tray. The other four bars are suspended, as it were, in the top of the tray. For this purpose the four upper bars are formed at their ends, as shown in Fig. 5, with .integral tongues 12 which at their inner ends rest directly upon the upper edges of the ends of the tray, while their outer ends are bent downward and then inserted through horizontal slots 13 formed in the ends of the tray near the upper edges thereof as shown in Fig. 2. As thus supported, the bars reinforce the package against lateral thrusts to some extent. In the modified construction shown by Fig. 6, the bars, instead of being furnished with integral tongues 12, are furnished with metal suspension straps 14: the projecting edges of which are bent downward upon the outer faces of the upper ends of the tray. l do not, however,

limit myself to the use of hollow bars or to bars made of cardboard, or to bars made of triangular cross-sectio=5 as it is obvious that these reinforcing bars may be varied in con- 5 lstruction and in number as long as they are adapted in form and position to discharge their function of assisting in positioning the apples and resisting endwise thrusts upon the package.

In the use of my improved package, the apples are arranged edgewise in the tray in three rows of four apples each, the four bot tom bars 11 being set into the bottom of the tray before the introduction of the apples thereinto. The four upper bars 1l are then placed in position, whereby the individual rows of apples are prevented from lateral shucking. Ordinarily the apples or fruit will make slight contact. but not sufficient to result in bruising them. The ends of the tongues 12 are then folded down upon the outer faces of the end walls of the tray and inserted into the slots 13 in the said Walls, after which the tray is pushed into the cover or shuck 5 so as to be centered therein. The side Haps 10 are then folded inward over the ends of the tray, then the bottom iiaps 9 are folded upward over the side flaps and finally y the top flaps 8 are folded down over the bottom flaps 9 and glued or otherwise sealed in place. The fruit is now protected against contamination and handling, whileat the same time its character and quality may be suii'iciently seen for all purposes through the glazed opening 6. The use of a tray enables the apples to be readily assembled in the most attractive way before the tray is shoved into the cover. After the package of apples has been sold, the cover is unsealed and the tray pulled out by means of its tap 3 after which the shuck or cover may be discarded and the upper bars removed and the tray used, if desired, as a receptacle for the app es.

Inthe modified construction shown by Figs?? and 8, the shuck 15 has no endflaps, but consists merely 0f an open-ended tube. In this constructionalso the opening 16 in the cover is furnished with a door 17 having a tab 18 and normally held closed by tom of the tray for spacing and positioning the several pieces' of fruit therein with respect to each other and for reinforcing the tray against thrusts in the direction of the said positioning members, vbut yielding laterally to prevent the fruit' from being marred in case of undue pressure, the upper members being removable to permit them to p be introduced into the tray after the symmetrical arrangement of the fruit therein and prior to the application to the tray of the shuck or cover.

2. In a sanitary package for the display and sale of fancy fruit, the combination with a tray open at the top, of a shuck or cover to receive the tray and furnished in its top with a glazed opening through which the contents of the tray may be inspected, and reinforcing and positioning bars arranged lengthwise within the tray, the upper bars being removable and furnished at their ends with means whereby they are suspended from the upper edges of the ends of the tray.

3. In a sanitary package for the display and sale of fancy fruit, the combination' with a tray open at the top for the symmetrical arrangement of the fruit in it, of a tubular cover or shuck adapted to receive the tray and provided with a glazed opening, and reinforcing bars arranged lengthwise in the tray, the upper bars being removable and provided at their ends with integral suspension fingers by means of which they are engaged with the ends of the tray for holding them in place therein.

HENRY B. KOPF. 

